Alabama Environmental Council’s third POWER-UP forum is Wednesday March 18, 2015 – in partnership with Southern Environmental Center and BSC Urban Environmental Studies Program. You can register online but please note that registrations after the Mar. 12 deadline no longer include a free lunch. An agenda and bios for speakers can be found here.

Make plans now to attend the 19th Annual Green Tie Affair on Friday, April 10th, at Old Car Heaven. This is our largest FUN-draiser of the year and you will not want to miss out. Always one of the highlights of the spring, Green Tie Affair is a gala with food, beverages, music, and silent and live auction. Being early in Earth Month, this is the perfect event to kick off your celebration. $50 tickets will go on sale soon, so mark your calendar now so you won't miss this wonderful event!

If your business would like to purchase a block of tickets or sponsor the event, costs range from $250-$5,000.

Glass collection for recycling has stopped temporarily at the Downtown Birmingham Recycling Center located at 2431 Second Avenue North. After Argos (formerly LaFarge NA) stopped accepting glass at their Calera cement manufacturing facility over a year ago, our only option to continue recycling glass was to transport it to markets in Georgia and Tennessee due to space and equipment limitations. We've been very fortunate to have the support of American Recycling (a Waste Pro company) in handling the expensive logistics of collecting, storing, transferring, and transporting glass out of state. Unfortunately, this process is simply too expensive to maintain in its current form.

As many of us suffer through the final clouds of Alabama pollen, the lure of getting outdoors is irresistible, particularly with the plethora of outdoor events, festivals, and concerts. In addition to good times, such events can also produce large amounts of trash. However, with a little bit of planning and conviction, anyone can easily host a near-zero waste event.

A recent report from The Solar Foundation found that Alabama ranks 42nd in state-specific numbers related to solar jobs in the state. With only 420 jobs related to solar, there is a lot of room for growth. This is especially true when you see that Tennessee has 2,800 jobs with 1,200 new last year and Georgia has 2,600 jobs, with 1,800 new last year. That means Alabama is set for a huge potential job growth with the right policies and economic development. Let's encourage state decision makers to support this dependable renewable energy!

Our Business Paper Recycling Program helps these businesses, schools, and organizations to recycle hundreds of tons of paper. The next time you visit these establishments, be sure to thank them for recycling.